


Bath time

by Malecfan09



Series: 5 elements [4]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Bath Time, Carlos is the best skipper, Established Relationship, Fun, M/M, Ocean, Rafe hates baths, Rafe loves baths, Sailing, entranced Max, excited Rafe, lots of dolphins, magic dolphin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-24
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-14 23:00:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29674572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Malecfan09/pseuds/Malecfan09
Summary: Rafe hates bath-time. Magnus does his magic and then Rafe loves bath-time. There is a bit in between involving marine mammals.
Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Series: 5 elements [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2171319
Comments: 20
Kudos: 34





	Bath time

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Satyana](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Satyana/gifts).



> More Mary Poppins inspiration. This time from the second film. It was only meant to be a short drabble but somehow it got away from me. Oh well! 
> 
> No animals were hurt in the writing of this ficlet.
> 
> @Satyana – thank you for your enthusiasm. This one is for you. 😀
> 
> Big thanks to my beta @lilyofwalley who is such a great support 💜 check out her fics too.
> 
> None of the characters are mine, of course, they belong to the great Cassandra Clare. Any mistakes are mine alone and I own them completely.

Rafe hates baths. Correction, Rafe _hated_ baths but now he _loves_ them. So how did he get from hate to love? Now therein lies a story.

The story starts with a question, which surprisingly or not, has nothing to do with baths.

“Rafe, what would you like to do for your birthday?”

Rafe is going to be five soon. It will be his second birthday with his dad, papa and Max but the first one that he feels really free to celebrate. His fourth birthday was just after he’d come to live with his forever family so he didn’t feel anywhere near as comfortable and happy as he feels now.

Rafe is thinking. Magnus can pretty much see the cogs working in his brain. He is a serious little boy for his age and Magnus hopes that he will choose something fun to do but he doesn’t want to push him. He is old enough now for it to be his choice and it is important that he feels valued and supported.

“Papa, can we visit some dolphins, please?”

Rafe has been pretty much obsessed with dolphins since he saw them in the wild on a program on tv at Izzy and Sheldon’s place. He has dolphin soft toys, dolphin-shaped soap bars (Magnus thought that might help with the bath – sadly it didn’t), a dolphin on a mug, a plate, a t-shirt and enough dolphin posters to cover the Carnegie Hall. It really should come as no surprise that Rafe would like to visit some real-live dolphins!

“Absolutely Chiquito. We can portal to a place I know by the coast in Mexico and get a boat to see the dolphins. How does that sound?”

“Oh papa, really, really? We can go see dolphins in the sea?”

Rafe is so excited. He is jumping up and down, a huge grin on his face. Magnus is delighted to see his eldest son so happy. He wishes Alexander could be here to see his reaction but unfortunately he was called at the last minute to a meeting with the Clave that he couldn’t refuse. So they decided that Magnus would ask Rafe anyway as they need to have enough time to arrange things with his birthday only a week away.

“That we can my little angel. I’ll get everything sorted so that we can go next week on your birthday. Okay?”

“Thank you, thank you papa.” Rafe is dancing around Magnus, unable to contain his excitement. Finally he lifts his arms up, the sign for Magnus to pick him up and they share a big hug. Raziel, he loves his little shadowhunter so much. It always makes him tear-up, moments like this. He will do everything in his power to make sure that next week Rafe has _the_ day of his little five-year-old life.

“It’s my pleasure chiquito. Now, you go and wash your hands and then we’ll see if Max has finished his siesta so we can have a little snack. Then we’ll go out to the park for a while and by the time we get back dad should be home.”

**************

A week later, everyone is dressed in swim shorts, a t-shirt (long-sleeved and anti-uv material for the kids), a life-vest, water-proof shoes and smeared in suncream. They jump (it’s a ‘ _thing’_ with Max at the moment and everyone is expected to participate) through the portal that Magnus creates in the living room of the loft, onto a sandy beach in Puerto Vallata, Mexico. There is a two hour time difference with New York which is perfect as the best time to find dolphins is in the morning and they now have the whole morning ahead of them.

Magnus has spent the last week making contact with fellow Downworlders in Nayarit who have been very helpful and found him a boat that he can hire for the day. He has been out on the ocean many times in his long life (he was even a pirate once) but he wants to have all his attention for his boys today so magicking a boat wasn’t really going to be helpful. This hire boat comes with a skipper, Carlos, a Downworlder who is very jolly and entertaining. Rafe takes to him straight away as he introduces them all to his boat, rattling along in his rapid Spanish that Rafe has no problems following. Max is a little more shy, hanging onto dad’s legs with wide eyes and his cuddly blue bat tucked under his arm.

It isn’t very long before they are underway. They have a motor to get them out of the harbor but then Carlos rigs the sails and cuts the motor and a natural silence descends. It is wonderful to feel the waves beneath their feet, the prow of the boat moving up and down, the sails full and the mast and spars creaking in the wind. Magnus had prepared an anti-seasickness potion beforehand so everyone feels fantastic.

About an hour out from the harbour, Rafe, who has the eyes of an eagle and has been watching the water the whole time, gives a little shout.

“Dad, papa, Carlos, over there. I see something. Do you think it might be dolphins?”

“Your little one has good eyes. Those are indeed dolphins and they are still quite some way off. We’ll be with them soon though, as they are swimming this way.”

Rafe is beside himself with excitement. Alec has to keep a hand on him as he worries that Rafe might well just throw himself into the ocean to go and greet them given half a chance. He and Magnus have already discussed what they will do if they do meet a pod so he holds onto his oldest son and lets him know that he will be able to go into the water with the dolphins when they get closer. Rafe can hardly contain himself and between jumping up and down, thanking Alec and Magnus a hundred times and watching the dolphins leaping through the water, the time passes quickly.

The dolphins are now easy to see. They are magnificent in their natural habitat and Rafe starts to calm down as he begins to appreciate their incredible beauty. They move with such grace, leaping out of the water, doing little acrobatic moves and squealing to each other. Max too is entranced. He watches in his papa’s arms, his own outstretched towards the incoming dolphins, repeating “me, me” in his little high-pitched voice.

“Okay people, time to get down into the water. I have rigged a platform so that you can have easy access with the children. Down you go everyone.”

Once on the platform it is indeed very easy to slip into the water. Carlos has taken the sails down and set anchor so that the boat is just bobbing with the waves. The water is warm and clear and you can easily see the shape of the dolphins as they arrive. They turn circles around the boat at first, squealing and chirping. Rafe is awestruck. He watches them with a look of concentration on his face and then bursts out laughing when one leaps out of the water and turns before creating a big splash on entering. Suddenly, they are surrounded by dolphins, whizzing past under their feet and next to them, sometimes jumping out of the water. One or two come by much slower and eventually one nudges Rafe’s leg. He is ecstatic; a huge grin on his face. The next one nudges his hand and Rafe very gently pats its nose. He beams at his dad and his papa as the dolphin moves away. Little by little the dolphins make themselves known to the four of them but it is Rafe who seems to attract the most attention. He is adoring this moment with these beautiful wild creatures and when they finally swim on he watches them go with the same look of awe on his face that he had when he saw them arrive.

************

A few days later, it is bath time and Rafe is on strike. He really hates baths.

“I want to swim with dolphins in the sea papa, not have a bath”

This has been going on for quite a while now and it is getting close to bedtime. But the word dolphins suddenly inspires Magnus. He looks at Alec and a signal of complicity passes between them. He leaves Rafe with Alec while he goes to the bathroom to weave a little magic.

“Rafe, I have a little surprise for you in the bathroom.”

Rafe is reluctant at first but Alec manages to persuade him to go and have a look. As he enters the bathroom he hears a little squeal. Surprised he rushes over to the bath to find that Magnus has enlarged it somewhat and swimming in the bath is a mini dolphin, just like the ones they saw in Mexico. Rafe let’s out a cry of joy, throws his clothes off in a few rapid movements and dives into the bath. There is a lot of splashing and laughter and now Magnus has to work out how to get his son _out_ of the bath.

**Author's Note:**

> This is the Water Element. 💦
> 
> For those of you who might be worrying about the ethics of miniaturizing a dolphin and then containing it in a bath, I would like to assure you that said mini-dolphin is a magical construction of Magnus’s and not real! Phew!
> 
> Kudos make my day and comments are the icing on the cake.


End file.
